The Sour Orange Derby by Kristina Circelli Book Tour and Review

One lone tree is all that remains of the cherished Standridge family orange groves, a legacy that goes back as far as the Civil War. But for young Colly Standridge, that solitary tree is at the center of a magical world.

Inspired by real people, The Sour Orange Derby follows the lives of Colly, who dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, and K.B. Standridge, an imaginative old man who spends his days creating stories for his grandchildren to enjoy while searching for a new family legacy – and finds it in his last beloved orange tree.

A story about love and healing steeped in southern traditions, The Sour Orange Derby is a tale of one family joining together to celebrate life and history, and how their last remaining orange tree holds them all together when the young boy’s fight with cancer threatens to tear them apart.

Kristina Circelli, accomplished author of The Helping Hands and The Whisper Legacy series, is proud to take readers on a literary journey into her childhood, offering a glimpse of the magical worlds and imaginative stories created by her beloved grandfather.

My review:

Sour Orange Derby was a drastic 360 from my normal genre of books. I usually stick with Paranormal books because they are escape for me with not too much emotional investment. It was a well crafted story that was beautifully told and you felt that you knew the characters like your own family by the end of the book. I normally can’t finish a book that was emotionally taxing (the story behind the derby is very sad), but I am glad I stuck it out because the ending was very rewarding. I highly recommend this story. Even though it’s YA it still tells a very mature, enchanting story that makes you feel like you are smack dab in the middle of the Standridge family and learning a long with the reporter (who the story was being told to) the importance of the Sour Orange Derby.